Vehicle manufacturers are continuously searching for ways to reduce noise created by the engine and the powertrain of a vehicle. One way to reduce powertrain vibration and noise is to increase or improve the rigidity of the powertrain. As a result, stiffening brackets have been externally mounted to the housing of some vehicle powertrains.
Although these prior art brackets reduce vibration and noise, they have several shortcomings. During assembly or service of the vehicle, the installation of these external brackets may be overlooked or, if installed, these external brackets may be improperly torqued causing greater vibration and noise concerns. Additionally, the packaging space in the engine compartment of most modern vehicles is extremely limited. Often, there is simply not sufficient packaging space in the engine compartment to install externally mounted stiffening brackets on the housing of the powertrain. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a support structure which reduces powertrain vibration and noise and which may be packaged in an engine compartment having limited packaging space.